The lazy genius has 5 mates

chapter 47

The thirteen symbols glowed on the Vault hologram—soft pulses of ancient intelligence waiting to be awakened.

Roxanne stared at them too long.

Holwen saw it first.

Zolekh saw it next.

Rolkan, Abel, and Helixiar caught on last as they noticed her jaw tightening, fingers tapping, pupils stretching too wide in that familiar way.

Before the tilt returned.

Before she pushed too far.

Holwen gently brushed his fingers down her arm.
"Roxy... do you want space? With your brothers?"

Her eyes flickered toward him—
grateful
conflicted
overstimulated.

"...Yes," she whispered.

There was no offense.
No questions.
No protest.

Her mates simply nodded, each stepping forward to press a soft goodbye:

A brush of Zolekh's knuckles across her cheek.
A warm squeeze from Abel.
A quick forehead kiss from Rolkan.
A soft hand-over-hand touch from Helixiar.
A grounding, quiet forehead press from Holwen.

"Call us if you need anything," Holwen said gently.

Roxanne nodded.

And with that, the five exited the Vault, sealing the door behind them.

Silence washed over the room.

A different silence.

One she had only ever shared with two people in this world.

Cain stepped forward first, adjusting his blazer sleeves like he was stepping into an old, familiar role.

"You okay, little star?" he asked.

Roxanne let out a shaky breath.
"I didn't want them to see me... unravel again."

Loman rolled his eyes dramatically.
"You didn't unravel, you freak of nature. You got overwhelmed. Big difference."

Cain smirked.
"We prefer the term 'brain overheating.'"

Roxanne shoved Loman's shoulder weakly.
"Shut up."

He snorted.
"There she is."

Cain lowered the brightness on the hologram to a warm amber tone.

"You're buzzing, aren't you?" he said gently.

Roxanne nodded, finally able to relax slightly.
"It's like my brain is running twenty windows at once. If I stop, everything collapses."

Loman hooked an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side.

"So we use the buzz. Not fight it."

Cain gestured toward the hologram.
"Show us what you're seeing."

Roxanne straightened.

The shift was subtle.

Not manic.
Not trembling.
Just—focused.

She raised her hand and magnified the spider sigil.

The code unfurled like veins of light.

"If I take the spider algorithm," she murmured, "and peel the layers—see here—look—there's recursion."

Loman whistled. "Holy hell..."

Cain leaned in. "That's not recursion. That's a looped intelligence test."